"Cloud Computing"

Cloud computing (basically having either the application or the data running/residing on the web somewhere) has been talked about a lot in the last dew weeks. Seems to be a hot topic.

I blogged about it last September and still think most of what I wrote still holds true – the most successful “Cloud Computing” applications will be those that let me enjoy a rich experience with a local application, allow me to store my data where I want – the cloud, a local disk, both – and the application will offer a less-rich online application that allows me to view, share, and at some level manipulate that data.

That’s pretty much the Holy Grail for me – at least until I get a rock solid 100 MB download speeds on my home Internet connection.

It is not the computing platforms, or the web platforms that make complete “Cloud Computing” unrealistic in the next five years (at least) – it is the Internet connection speed AND reliability.

It is also the web browsers. Providing that rich of an experience that works across many Operating Systems is very difficult. Not impossible – I see some progress being made here – but unless the interface allows the non-technical to publish content to the web it will fail.

Whatever “Web 3.0, 4.0” (or whatever number we are on) will be, I can’t say. But it will allow the “average Joe” to publish to it. Easily. And for free.

Anything a Web Application can do, a Desktop application can do. Web applications cant do everything a Desktop can.